Flashbacks
by EvanescentBlue
Summary: Oneshot. It was no wonder Leon kept remembering the events of that day. After all, it had been a day not unlike this one...that day twenty years ago when he last saw his best friend.


**_My first and probably only venture into Merlin fanfiction~_**

**_I'm not too sure how old Leon's supposed to be, but for the purpose of this fanfic lets just assume he's in his late thirties or early forties. Or you can exchange Leon's name for the name of another knight._**

**_[Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. Obviously.]_**

* * *

Training had been difficult today, the previous night's downpour having turned much of the field into thick mud. The prince was the prince, however, and so their training schedule had continued uninterrupted.

At the end of two hours the knights were all battered, bruised, and covered in mud. As Leon took off his helmet and made his way towards a bench, his foot slipped and he ended up doing a faceplant in the grass.

_"Leon, you really should pay more attention to your surroundings. It would hardly do for a knight of Camelot to be felled so easily."_

_Leon got to his feet for what was probably the hundreth time and made a face at his friend, who was obviously struggling to keep a straight face. "It is hardly my fault if a childish sorceror suddenly decides to pull pranks on me right after training." With a sigh he looked down at himself - along with the grime that inevitably accompanied a training session, his armor now sported a large puddle of gooey brown muck, right in the center of his chest. There were numerous green stains on his boots, from where several blades of grass had decided to tie themselves around his ankles as he was walking, and he had no doubt that his hair was in serious disarray after literally walking through a miniature tornado._

_"It can, however, be considered to be partly your fault seeing as this would not have happened if you hadn't told your servant to empty your chamber pot out the window as I was walking by." Nereus crossed his arms and smirked at Leon's scowl. Dressed as he was in the dark red and gold tunic of a sorceror of Camelot, with his long dark hair somehow managing to look messy and elegant at the same time, the commoner magician looked every inch the perfect noble. As opposed to Leon, who was the actual noble._

_"I did not know you were there!" Leon complained as the pair walked up the castle steps, studiously ignoring the curious glances thrown his way. He picked a leaf out of his hair. "And I did apologize..."_

_"Which is why I did not simply go and dump you into the mud puddle," Nereus said cheerfully. As they walked past a window he tilted his head and grinned, his pale green eyes momentarily dancing with sparks of gold._

Leon wiped a rag across his sweaty face and gestured for his servant to take care of his weapons. Across the field he could see the Arthur looking exasperated and amused as Merlin shuffled around on the ground, picking up a bunch of dropped swords - all sheathed, thankfully - and muttering under his breath. The knight grinned as he took in the scene - no matter how much the prince might try to deny it, it was obvious to all of his knights that Arthur did indeed care for Merlin. The two were like brothers - always bickering but inseperable.

_"Congratulations, Leon. You are now officially a knight of Camelot, though why anyone would want to go around in full armor everyday of the year waving swords around is beyond me."_

_"Don't you think you are overstepping your boundaries, Nereus?"_

_"Hardly. I am one of Lady Nimueh's apprentices and you are one of the king's knights. We are of equal rank now, whether you like it or not."_

Leon shook his head and turned away, waiting just long enough for his armor to be removed before quickly making his way back into the castle. He had exactly one hour to bathe and eat before going out to patrol.

_"From this day onward the practice of sorcery is outlawed in Camelot. All sorcerors are to be arrested and executed for high treason and conspiring against the crown."_

_Leon was not the only one to gasp and stare in surprise at the figure on the throne. A few nobles and a number of knights shifted uneasily and silence hung thick in the air as the court waited for the punch line to the awful joke. Eventually, however, it became evident that Uther was serious and immediately several voices, abandoning all protocol, cried out in disbelief. _

_In the center of the hall, surrounded by a number of experienced guards with drawn weapons and sorrowful expressions, clustered the castle's sorcerors. A couple were yelling, endeavoring to remind the king of their loyalty, of everything that they had done for Camelot. Most were simply staring, shock and disbelief clear on their faces. Near the edge of the group Leon could see Nereus, his expression one of pure disbelief. Then, as the order was given to march the sorcerors to the courtyard where death awaited, the disbelief slowly morphed into sadness, betrayal...and finally anger._


End file.
